13 September 2016

Flatlay Like a Boss: 6 Tips for Easy Product Photography Using Your Smartphone

You can take great DIY product shots with just some simple tools and natural lighting.

1) Prepare your Products to be Photographed

Firstly get your products looking their best - clean and polish them if necessary.

2) Product Photography Background Ideas

The best background to choose will depend on your product and the look you are going for - do you want to create a mood or present it simply with a black, white or light grey background? .

For an authentic feel try to find an environment suitable for the product. For instance leather goods work well styled on a worn wooden table or use your work environment. .

For a very clean and simple look use white, light grey or black. Foam boards are useful as they stay clean and don't crease.

3) Get Perfect Lighting in your Product Photos

Nothing beats natural lighting for a light source, and it's free, though use it wisely. Find a spot indoors by a window with indirect light or outside in the shade or even directly outside on an overcast day. For optimal light every time, get yourself an inexpensive and portable photo studio like the Lightcase #Flatlay, which diffuses the light through the Polypropylene material to reduce shadows. Look for a balanced light across the area of your shoot.
Choose the earlier part of the day for good overall colour.

4) What Camera Should You Use?

You can't beat the quality of a good Digital SLR camera, however you can take remarkably good photographs using a smartphone and a tripod if required. Make sure the camera is focused, the brightness is adjusted and the camera is steady. If you’re using a Lightcase #Flatlay, resting the camera on top of the Lightcase stabilises the camera, but if you are shooting from the front you'll get the best photos by using a tripod. There are lots of great apps to edit your images with but you'll get the best results starting with a great photo in the first place. Sometimes you can get camera shake when taking photos with your smartphone - if so, try connecting your headphones and click the button on the headphones to release the shutter, thus avoiding any camera shake.

5) Layout and Styling Your Product Photos

Make your layout interesting. Flat lays are a great way of styling your work by introducing other objects to enhance your products and tell a story. Co-ordinate colour and textures of multiple objects. If you can't get things to sit in place then stick a bit of blue tack to the undersides.

6) Have Fun

HAPPY shooting!! Have fun and get creative with your shots. Try placing the Lightcase #Flatlay over your hands at work and take a time-lapse or instructional video to mix it up a bit and offer something different to your Instagram followers!
P.S. The new Lightcase #Flatlay was used for the above photos. Lightcase #Flatlay helps you get the best out of your photography; it diffuses the light giving a balanced and enhanced shooting environment. It also holds your camera steady and you can go hands free to adjust your shoot live. Slot a sheet of paper into the back to get a seamless background for front angle photos too.

Win a Lightcase #Flatlay

Lightcase #Flatlay was launched on Kickstarter on September 7th so we’re giving away 5 of these little beauties to celebrate. If you haven’t already entered, check out our previous post here for all the details on how to enter. Just in case you miss out, be sure to pledge on the Lightcase Kickstarter campaign today to pre-order yours. If you win one in our giveaway, your pledge will be refunded.
#Flatlay #LikeaBoss

Words by:
Guest blogger,

Dom Crinson (Inventor of Lightcase)

Father. Artist. Designer. Inventor.

Dom has always been thinking, tinkering, designing, making and, well, dreaming. Commercially he has made a name for himself in the UK interior design world with his range of ceramic tiles for high end luxury residential and commercial spaces. Back in 1996 he invented a process for digitally printing onto ceramic tiles. This has been able to fund his true passions of art and ceramics where he has also gained significant worldwide praise. Though at the moment, he is focussed on making Lightcase better. It all started because his maker partner was looking for a way to photograph her wares to sell online. Lightcase grew out of trial, error, feedback and success via working with his local maker community. He has two sons, ten chickens and several thousand bees.
Visit Lightcase to learn more.